The European Year of Cultural Heritage 2018 aimed at celebrating cultural heritage as a shared resource, it created the momentum for cultural heritage to be placed higher on the European Union’s agenda, through an integrated approach. The European Framework for Action on Cultural Heritage, announced in the new European Agenda for Culture, responds to the invitation of European Leaders and cultural stakeholders to build on the results of the European Year of Cultural Heritage and ensures its legacy by developing further concrete actions. The Framework for Action promotes and puts into practice an integrated and participatory approach to cultural heritage, and contributes to the mainstreaming of cultural heritage across EU policies. It reflects the common set-up for heritage-related activities at European level, primarily in EU policies and programmes. It aims to capture and scale-up the success of the European Year of Cultural Heritage 2018.
The framework proposes around 60 actions (within Clusters of Actions) be implemented by the European Commission in 2019 and 2020, which focus on five main thematic pillars:
- Cultural heritage for an inclusive Europe: participation and access for all
- Cultural heritage for a sustainable Europe: smart solutions for a cohesive and sustainable future
- Cultural heritage for a resilient Europe: safeguarding endangered heritage
- Cultural heritage for an innovative Europe: mobilising knowledge and research
- Cultural heritage for stronger global partnerships: reinforcing international cooperation.
HERITAGE-PRO contributes to several pillars of the Framework.
Namely, under Pillar 1 – Raising awareness of Europe’s cultural heritage and the need to safeguard it through heritage education – this was achieved through widely-known European schemes like Erasmus+ and the eTwinning platform. Under the Cluster of Actions 2 of this Pillar, the European Commission, through Erasmus+, will continue to fund intercultural exchanges and support participation in cultural heritage-related projects.
Furthermore, HERITAGE-PRO directly contributes to the Cluster of Actions 12: boosting skills in cultural heritage professions, under Pillar 4.
As of 2019, building on the recommendations of Voices of Culture and EU Member States’ experts (OMC), the European Commission supported the initial and continuing development of qualified professionals and improvement in knowledge management and knowledge transfer in the cultural heritage sector through projects, including under the Erasmus+ programme.
Through Erasmus+ calls, the objective is to map skills at risk, gather statistical evidence, define occupational profiles and develop frameworks for raising awareness and attracting the young generations to heritage professions.
We could proudly say that HERITAGE-PRO is pioneering in this process!
(Picture: Pixabay Creative Commons)